The reign of Elizabeth the first 1558-1603

       Elizabeth the Ist was a true child of the renaissance; she was the clever and the last ruler (1558-1603) during the Tudors period. She spoke several foreign languages, she loved parties, dancing and all forms of greatness, she also enjoyed theater and it was during her reign that England produced some of her greatest poets and playwrights. Elizabeth I’s reign was referred to as a Golden Age, so what makes it seen as a Golden Age?

 

      Elizabeth was very intelligent and politically brilliant. She surrounded herself with smart, capable men to work hand in hand to rule the kingdom. The day after she became Queen she appointed her closest adviser, Sir William Cecil as her principal secretary. Together, he and Elizabeth formed an excellent and very powerful political alliance.

 

       She could manage the issue of religion during her reign. The question of religion was the most urgent problem in 1558. Elizabeth’s personal religion was not obvious. Unlike her brother or her sister who was a devout catholic. She had no clear religious beliefs to impose upon her people. Instead she regarded religion as a branch of politics and behaved according to what was appropriate. She produced a compromise religious settlement in 1559 with two acts The Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity. With her religious settlement Elizabeth succeeded in satisfying the vast majority of her subjects who were too happy to be able to keep their religious convictions while remaining loyal subjects.

 

      The victory for the English in 1588 against the Spanish was incredible for the reputation of their navy and the popularity of Elizabeth. Philip II of Spain organized an invasion force to England. The Armada arrived in the English Channel in July 1588. On 28 July, during the night The English attacked with “fire ships” pushed in the direction of the Spanish fleet. Upon seeing these burning ships, the Spanish commander decided to abandon the invasion plan and escape back to Spain ending with the victory of England.

 

       To sum up, during Elizabeth the Ist reign, it was a time of relative political stability, exploration, and creativity in which art flourished. Due to her desire to unit her subjects under one Throne, her reign was marked as a time of peace. At the end of her reign, she delivered her Golden Speech to the assembled members of the Lords and Commons. In it she summarized the serious events of her reign. She concluded: Though God hath raised me high, yet this I count the glory of my Crown: that I have reigned with your loves.

 

        Elizabeth Tudor, the smart and the last ruler during the Tudors period, her reign was a remarkable time of the English history. Her reign was known as England’s Golden Age.